Didier Queloz

Didier Queloz
Queloz at the European Southern Observatory 50th anniversary gala, Residenz, Munich, October 11, 2012.
Born	February 23, 1966 (1966-02-23) (age 49)
Nationality	Swiss
Occupation	Astronomer

Didier Queloz (born February 23, 1966) is a Geneva-based astronomer with a prolific record in finding extrasolar planets.

Didier Queloz was a Ph.D. student at the University of Geneva when he and Michel Mayor discovered the first exoplanet around a main sequence star.^[1] Queloz performed an analysis on 51 Pegasi using radial velocity measurements (Doppler effect), and was astonished to find a planet with an orbital period of 4.2 days. He had been performing the analysis as an exercise to hone his skills.^[2] The planet, 51 Pegasi b, challenged the then accepted views of planetary formation, being a hot Jupiter or roaster. He has received the 2011 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award of Basic Sciences (co-winner with Michel Mayor) for developing new astronomical instruments and experimental techniques that led to the first observation of planets outside the solar system.

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